So far this offseason, we've seen a range of interesting moves: 1. (So far) failed attempts to trade for Dwight Howard 2. Failed attempt to sign Eric Gordon 3. (Seemingly) failed attempt to re-sign Goran Dragic 4. Attempt to sign Omer Asik as an FA for $25MM 5. Failed attempt to trade up in the draft, before taking two tweener forwards and Jeremy Lamb 6. Likely to fail attempt to sign Marcus Camby 7. Rescinding RFA rights on C. Lee 8. Attempt to sign Jeremy Lin Based on all this, what on earth is the plan? Seems like we are truly schizophrenic here. On the one hand, moves to get Howard and Dragic look like we want to build a contender right now. On the other, the draft looks like we want to rebuild from the bottom and develop young talent. The moves for Asik and Lin are a bit head scratching and seem like we don't have a plan at all. Can anyone else figure out the pattern? Or is there none and we are just trying to maintain as much flexibility as possible while not committing to a path?
At this point it is hard to say. They do things that would make you think they are rebuilding but then they go and sign asik to a 25 million dollar contract. I'm not even sure they know what they are doing.......
My guess is that Les wanted a superstar on the team and when he failed for the Nth time...he said "F-it...lets play the young guys." However, if you consider the roster, I still think that the Rockets would be picking in the 10-14 range because they still have Scola, Lowry, and Martin.
Morey's plan won't work because it requires the cooperation of people outside the organization, players and general managers. This is why you rebuild through the lottery. If a player is on the board, you draft him. If he doesn't like it, tough cookies. The goal, and it is more obvious now than ever, should be to tank next season for the number one pick in the 2013 NBA draft, and to tank the season afterwards for the number one pick in the 2014 NBA draft. The odds of getting number one in either draft is slim and none, but the odds of walking away with a top five pick in both drafts is actually quite doable. If the Rockets really want them bad enough.
The plan is still to maintain cap and roster flexibility for when more talented cap casualties start making their way to the market. If they can swing a superstar, or two, great. Maintaining a budget not to overspend is critical if you don't have franchise players locked in place.
I thought I had a good idea of what Morey was attempting to do , with the recent moves , to say I was befuddled would be an understatement .... Ive been a Morey supporter and defender the past couple years , but this offseason , I find it difficult to defend many of his actions. I realize the season is still months away and the roster could look significantly different at that point .... but I just have no clue where he's headed. I'd like to believe that he has finally convinced Les that they simply have to tank , mainly for the reasons Raven stated above , their plan requires cooperation from individuals outside the orginization .... much of which seems unreasonable. But I just cant see Les bending on his principal of not wanting to lose to win .... even tho unlike the business world , the NBA rewards poor decisions. Because of that , Im flat out lost as to where the team is headed. This offseason seems to have been a complete and total nightmare , everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. Draft fell to where they missed out on the all the bigs. Unable to trade up in the draft. Unable to trade out of the three picks. Unable to consolidate assets into a star. Unable to lure a star FA. Unable to come to terms with their own FA's. What the hell can go wrong next ?! Worst case ... they tank , have the worst record andendup with the #4 pick.
Worst case is the #14 pick again. I am also a little confused but I don't think where we are is without strategy. You go into an offseason with Plans A-Z. A-G haven't worked yet. So plan H was to sign Asik. It's obvious that our plans are to still make the playoffs, which is why we are looking at signing Lin after Dragic fell through (Plan I). Replacing Dragic with Lin (slight downgrade) and replacing Dalembert with Asik (slight upgrade) will keep us competitive. Add the rookies and more experience for the other players and we 'might' be getting better. We certainly haven't lost any of our flexibility. We still have our amnesty, our 3m in cash to trade, a host of assets....At some point we will make that blockbuster trade and then all the hard work will have paid off. The 3 seasons in a row earning the #14 pick. The incremental upgrades. The pain of following Morey's moves not really understanding where we are going. The key here is to watch and enjoy because when the trade for a superstar or allstar happens, then we have plenty to turn us into a contender. Look at Orlando, they couldn't keep their superstar happy because they had very little desirable assets to upgrade the team and bring in another star. Once a star finally falls into Morey's lap, he will still have oodles of flexibility to get #2 and the supporting cast that they will need. I have faith that Morey will get something done and I'm willing to wait for it to happen. Just think, when we do win a championship it will be all the more glorious because we know what it is to be in pain for our team... Add that to the fact that I still need to save more money for a trip to Houston for when Houston does make the NBA finals.....I am not missing those games!!!
Trade Martin for Noah when Chicago matches on Asik. Then flip Noah and Lowry to Orlando for Dwight, and then give Dragic his $10 million per year.
Sounds like a plan... only 3 things wrong with it. First, I highly doubt the Bulls match for Asik. Second, I'll bet the Magic will want more than just Lowry and Noah. And lastly, Howard probably bolts to the Nets after next season, anyways since his buddy Williams re-upped there already...
One more thing: if Howard does leave as he has threatened to do, the Rockets are left with NO decent centers on the team! No Howard, no Noah, no Asik...
The strategy is and always has been trying to maximize the assets on hand, taking one step at at time, trying to get better each time, impoving slowly but surely. Plan A and B have failed. It happens. You can hope for the best, but rarely does it turn out that way. We're onto plan C or D now. The contingency plan is in effect.
One thing wrong with this. - Howard cannot sogn with the Nets next offseason. They vitually hve no more cap room for a long time, unless we could sign-and-trade.
I'm still holding out hope that we can rekindle the Scola talks after the 11th. Need his playing time to see what we've got in our young guys.
Sign Lin and Asik by essentially abusing the Gilbert Arenas Clause. Let Dragic walk. And continue to try and win games with the Lin cash cow on the roster. I can see Morey making a move at Gasol plus a future LA 1st with Lowry, Jones, and Scola to clear up logjams and improve at the PF spot. Gasol's contract expires when Lin and Asik's number spike up which clears the way for more time to Patterson (if he's still there by then) and Dmo. We could then try and go after Iggy with Martin, Morris, Leuer, and LA 1st. His contract would also expire by the time Lin and Asik's goes up. Lin/Livingston Iggy/Lamb Parsons/White Gasol/Ppat Asik/Dmo/Smith That's not too bad.
I thought I could see where those moves were headed up to this point ... but its become a whole lot less clear with the recent events. I wish I had your optimism ... but the things they have done seem more like sideways moves or a step back. Its been interesting to say the least , I hope somehow Morey finds a way to wake us all up from this horrible nightmare of an offseason with a big bang.
